Ryū

Ryū looks like a grown man fitted with a pair of Rinnegan, the skin of his scalp and the area around his eyes laced with markings that recall Shinki's wo pattern. As with the other Human God Trees, his clothing is spun from Claw Marks and reads as denim: trousers and a high-collared jacket whose back flows long, its orange inner lining left visible where his midsection is bared, the ensemble finished with high-top shoes of the same material.

Ryū takes after his template with a flat, unbothered temperament, addressing his fellow Human God Trees respectfully as 'Elder'. Idle chatter holds no interest for him; he fixes solely on his own ends, though he stays open to teaming up with others toward a common aim. Ever wary and watching for threats, he regards himself as an honest man who keeps whatever promise he gives.

Ryū is a sentient Human God Tree of overwhelming power, able to subdue even a full-strength Code, and God Tree leader Jura reckoned him capable of killing Code unaided. Formed in part from Claw Marks, he can conjure and steer them and move through them at will. From his template he draws Magnet Release, a fusion of Wind Release and Earth Release, calling Iron Sand out of his garments to mold into constructs or to sheathe and control his targets, and he can even remake his own body as Iron Sand.

Following Jura's assault on Konohagakure, Matsuri came upon a sprouted Thorn Soul Bulb and, granted Jura's leave, coaxed forth this new tree, whom Jura named Ryū. Settling into his identity, he caught Code spying from within a Daihakoten and snared him with Iron Sand. Once Code grasped how badly he was outmatched, Jura dangled a Chakra Fruit before him in exchange for slaying Boruto Uzumaki together with his unknown accomplice; after Code departed, Ryū sought permission to kill him later, which Jura granted before pressing for Ryū's real aim. Ryū named Gaara, the sole person able to lift the Magnet Release seal binding him.

Ryū afterward went with Matsuri into the Land of Wind, where a dead nin-toad pointed him toward Boruto. Team 7 turned up chasing the same quarry, so the two parties agreed to cooperate, splitting up on Konohamaru's suggestion with Ryū paired to the younger ninja. He met Yodo and Araya, drew open hostility from Yodo, and when Mitsuki asked why the God Trees wanted Boruto dead, Ryū said Jura found Boruto's knowledge of the Thorn Soul Bulbs too much of a nuisance. Agreeing to grow a bulb as bait, he produced a decoy of Iron Sand instead; seeing through the shinobi's trick, he turned the sand he had secretly spread over them against their own bodies, only for Araya to shatter the hold with the Magnetic Iron Sand Sealing Blade he had earlier devised alongside Shinki.

Protected from the sand, the team pressed forward, and Ryū summoned several Claw Grimes for support; when Araya cut one, it clamped onto his blade, and Ryū teleported the creature off with the weapon, leaving the group open. He soon crushed and captured them, offering mercy to any who surrendered word of Boruto. Mitsuki called for silence, which stung him, and though Yodo pledged her sensory talents, Ryū waved the offer away and cut her down, then forced Sarada to end her with a kunai. In that final instant Sarada awakened her Mangekyō Sharingan, conjuring orbs that swallowed every grain of Iron Sand and set everyone loose. His fatal error was underrating that eye: Sarada beat him, his body blew apart, and his thorn bulb dissolved. Araya bore the Thornsoul back to Shinki and used it to release his friend, a rescue that meant death for the Human God Tree.